Wheeler scratched after straining side

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — It was hard not to feel for the kid, watching the skinny prospect as he stood there with an injured oblique, valiantly promising to take the ball for his next start.

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By Mike Kerwick

recordonline.com

By Mike Kerwick

Posted Feb. 28, 2013 at 2:00 AM

By Mike Kerwick

Posted Feb. 28, 2013 at 2:00 AM

Mets notes

• Johan Santana is expected to resume throwing off a mound Friday for the first time since being diagnosed with left shoulder fatigue and could face batters in a "B'' game or batting practice...

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Mets notes

• Johan Santana is expected to resume throwing off a mound Friday for the first time since being diagnosed with left shoulder fatigue and could face batters in a "B'' game or batting practice Tuesday.

• Closer Frank Francisco threw from flat ground for the second time since being cleared to resume tossing Monday. Francisco, slowed by elbow inflammation, played catch with bullpen coach Ricky Bones from a distance of about 70 feet.

The Associated Press

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PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — It was hard not to feel for the kid, watching the skinny prospect as he stood there with an injured oblique, valiantly promising to take the ball for his next start.

It was hard not to panic, wondering how much time Zack Wheeler will miss after taking a few seemingly harmless swings in the batting cage.

Wheeler left an organization and its fan base hovering around the panic button Wednesday morning. The franchise's best pitching prospect hurt himself hitting.

A routine session in the batting cage courted tightness in Wheeler's oblique, forcing the Mets to pull the plug on his starting assignment less than 90 minutes before Wednesday afternoon's 12-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

"You don't want to get hurt, especially during spring training when I'm trying to prove myself a little bit," Wheeler said before the game. "But like I said, I don't want to be out two months. I just want to be out one start."

Any other player besides Johan Santana and a skipped start might be a footnote. But Wheeler is not any other player. With a prospect of this caliber, every bug bite is reason enough to sound the alarm.

The Mets were calling the injury a mild right oblique strain. GM Sandy Alderson told reporters there is no timetable yet, but said the decision to sit Wheeler was "mostly precautionary at this point." Wheeler said he intends to make his next start, but manager Terry Collins wants to exercise caution.

"We've got to be very careful," Collins said. "We're not going to do anything to hurt this guy."

The injury happened just hours before Wheeler was set to face Cardinals slugger Carlos Beltran — the player the Mets shipped to the Giants to obtain Wheeler in 2011. The two players exchanged handshakes before the game.

Wheeler said there was no single swing that triggered the injury. He said he has never had an issue with his oblique. He peppered his answers to reporters' questions with several permutations of the phrase "not that serious."

"It was a little stiff," Wheeler said. "You don't want to risk anything. Still got a month, month and a half left."

Collins said Wheeler was taking the same series of swings his pitchers take on a daily basis. But now Wheeler has an injury that plenty of other players — including David Wright — have suffered during their tenure with the Mets.